Nvidia makes deal with Slovenian-founded startup
Kumo AI, a startup co-founded by Slovenian computer scientist Jure Leskovec, has been acquired by US chipmaker Nvidia in a deal reportedly worth at least $400 million.
Leskovec, a professor of computer science at Stanford University, established Kuomo AI in 2022 with Vanja Josifovski and Hema Raghavan, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.
The startup develops foundation models designed to help businesses make predictions from their internal data.
The US business newspaper Fortune reported that all three founders joined Nvidia last month, signalling that the acquisition had been completed.
Amid the AI boom, Nvidia has enjoyed rapid growth and has recently acquired several startups to strengthen its artificial intelligence capabilities.
Nvidia declined to comment on the deal's value for Fortune. However, technology publication The Information estimated it at at least $400 million, according to Forbes Slovenija.
Based in Mountain View, California, Kumo AI raised US$37 million in two funding rounds in 2022. Its AI models help companies analyse internal data to make accurate business predictions.
According to the company's website, its solutions are used by companies such as Reddit, Doordash and Sainsbury's.
Forbes Slovenija noted that Leskovec previously co-founded Kosei, a recommendation-engine startup that was acquired by Pinterest more than a decade ago. He subsequently became Pinterest's head of research.
Photo: Facebook/NVIDIA
